December 9, 2016

Highlighted Year: Beattie Feathers, 1934

Halfback/Defensive
Back, Chicago Bears

Age: 25

1st
season in pro football

College: Tennessee

Height: 5’10”Weight: 185

Prelude:

In college, Feathers
starred as a halfback and punter, rushing for 1888 yards and scoring 32
touchdowns, and was a consensus first-team All-American selection in 1933. Both
fast and elusive, he signed with the Bears in 1934 and had a sensational rookie
season, benefiting from an outstanding supporting cast that notably included FB
Bronko Nagurski, whose blocking often helped to spring Feathers on long gains.

Bears went 13-0
to finish first in the NFL Western Division while leading the league in total
yards (3802), rushing yards (2847), touchdowns (37), and scoring (286 points).
Lost NFL Championship to New York Giants (30-13).

Aftermath:

Feathers, who
suffered a shoulder injury that affected the remainder of his career, never
came close to duplicating the success of his rookie year. In his three
remaining seasons with the Bears, he gained a total of 842 rushing yards. His
best single season during that period came in 1936, when he totaled 350 yards
on 97 carries (3.6 avg.) and scored two touchdowns. Feathers spent two years
with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1938 and ’39, running for 115 yards in a part-time
role, and ended his career with Green Bay in 1940. Overall, Feathers rushed for
1980 yards on 378 attempts (5.2 avg.) and caught 15 passes for 243 yards,
scoring a total of 17 touchdowns. He holds the distinction of being the NFL’s
first thousand-yard rusher and his 1934 yardage total remained the league
record until 1947. Feathers went on to become a college football head coach at
Appalachian State and North Carolina State and was also a baseball coach at the
collegiate level.

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Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:

6 comments:

Hey all. This is Keith's nephew. Just wanted to leave you a note to let you all know that Keith is recovering from a stroke he suffered on December 9th. While the stroke was very severe, he is making a strong recovery. Enough so that when I visited him yesterday he was concerned enough for all of you that he wanted me to post something�� Please keep him in your prayers and keep checking back. With a little help from God Fan Since 64 will be back as good as ever.

Hi all. This is Keith's nephew. Passing on to you all that my uncle suffered a severe stroke on December 9th. He is currently making a strong recovery. Enough so that when I visited him yesterday that he was concerned that you all were made aware of the situation. Please keep Keith in your prayers and confidentially keep checking back for the next post from Fan Since 64! God bless.

Hi all. This is Keith's nephew. Passing on to you all that my uncle suffered a severe stroke on December 9th. He is currently making a strong recovery. Enough so that when I visited him yesterday that he was concerned that you all were made aware of the situation. Please keep Keith in your prayers and confidentially keep checking back for the next post from Fan Since 64! God bless.